May 8 (Reuters) – FIFA announced on Friday that it will hold separate opening ceremonies prior to the first game in each of the three host countries for this year’s World Cup, which is being held in Mexico, Canada and the United States.
The biggest World Cup in history kicks off on June 11 in Mexico City, where Grammy Award-winning Mexican pop band Mana will be performing as part of a lineup that also includes Alejandro Fernandez and Belinda, FIFA said in a post on X.
The Mexico City concert will highlight Mexican culture and include Indigenous and “modern folkloric” performers, FIFA said.
Canadian singers Alanis Morissette, Michael Buble, Alessia Cara, William Prince and Bangladeshi American Sanjoy, who is a Los Angeles-based DJ, will perform ahead of Canada’s opening group stage match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto on June 12.
FIFA said a “mosaic-inspired reimagining of the FIFA World Cup Trophy will reflect Canada’s diversity and community” at the concert.
Later that day, American singer-songwriter Katy Perry will headline an opening ceremony ahead of the U.S. team’s match against Paraguay in Los Angeles, where Atlanta rap star Nayvadius Wilburn, better known as Future, will also perform. The lineup also includes Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla.
The U.S. concert is designed around “delivering a high-energy spectacle that reflects the scale, ambition and cultural power of the tournament itself,” FIFA said.
This year’s World Cup marks the second time the global soccer showcase is being co-hosted by multiple countries. The 2002 World Cup was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, with the former staging the opening ceremony.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Additional reporting by Ed White; Editing by Tom Hogue)
Comments